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MST3K 908 - The Touch of Satan
The Movie Synopsis The movie begins with the murder of a farmer by an elderly insane woman with terribly burned facial features. After stabbing the farmer and accidentally setting his barn on fire, the woman stumbles home to her family. The family, an older couple and a teenage woman, argue about the best way to handle the situation and make vague references that the elderly woman may have killed people in the past. The scene then switches to the main character, a young man named Jodie who is on an open-ended car trip across America to find himself and discover whether or not he wishes to follow in his father's footsteps as a lawyer. Jodie stops at a small pond to have lunch and meets Melissa, the teenage girl from the previous scene. They banter briefly and she convinces him to come visit her family on their walnut farm, despite the intense distress this offer causes her parents. The young couple grows increasingly close, despite the frightening presence of the elderly woman and various clues dropped along the way that Melissa is, in fact, a 127-year-old witch and the birth sister of the elderly insane woman. When the old woman murders a deputy policeman in front of Jodie, Melissa confesses that she is a cursed witch and is possessed by Satan. Jodie refuses to believe this, so Melissa reveals in a dream-sequence that her sister was burned as a witch by an angry mob of villagers in the 19th century. Melissa was so distressed by the sight of her sister being burned at the stake that she offered her soul to Satan in order to gain the power to save her. Satan agreed and allowed Melissa to save her sister. Melissa was given eternal life and youth as a result of this bargain, but the gift was a curse as she watched her now-insane sister grow old and homicidal. The old woman tries to kill Jodie, but Melissa uses her powers to stop her and her sister dies in a fire that she started. Jodie eventually believes Melissa and has sex with her, effectively "freeing" her from Satan. Unexpectedly, however, she instantly ages to her "actual" age and Jodie must sell his soul to Satan in order to restore Melissa's youth and save her life. The movie ends with the realization that each are bound to Satan and that Melissa's attempt to save herself has only managed to draw Jodie into the evil contract as well.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066476/plotsummary Information *Robert Easton, who played the leader of the angry mob in the flashback, had earlier appeared as a cantankerous redneck in The Giant Spider Invasion. *The co-director of this film (Tom Laughlin) may or may not be the same man who is behind the legendary Billy Jack. This film isn't listed under his filmography on IMDB. The Episode Host Segments Prologue: Tom and Crow are out caroling for Wassail, with severe finanical penalties if Mike is unable to deliver said Wassail. Segment One: Mike finds a loophole in the song in that it doesn't specify the condition of the Wassail, but their antics are interrupted when they learn that Pearl has gone on vacation and hired Steffi the babysitter to look after things. She's not quite prepared for the strangeness and treats everybody like small children much to torment of Bobo and Brian. Segment Three: A very sweaty Mike learns that walnut ranching is harder than one would expect, while Tom has taken up pecan farming with much better results. Segment Three: Yet again, Crow is influenced by the movie and believes he is a witch, a fact borne out of his ability to survive the test of being buried under rocks. Acting as a voice of reason, Mike points out his survival is due to his nature as a robot, but ends up making things worse when he suggests that Crow could just as easily be a frog. ' as Steffi']]Segment Four: Tom's Grandma attempts to pitchfork Mike. Tom points out that he can distinguish between his grandmothers by their desire to commit murder. Closing (Segment Five): Crow believes that he has sold his soul to Satan and will soon gain unworldly powers, but Mike discovers a typo - Crow has instead sold his soul to "Stan", a CPA (or Certified Public Accountant). Down in Castle Forrester, Steffi attempts to read Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham, but Brian is a little overtired and Bobo still insists on being a bad dog. Stinger: Melissa advises Jody that "This is where the fish lives". Other Notes * Like all the R-rated films shown on the show, it was edited for time and for content, including the scene where Lucinda stabs the policeman in the neck and the end sequence where "Grandma" goes partially topless. Guest Stars Steffi: Beez McKeever Stan Johnson: Paul Chaplin (voice) 'Unusual Credits: '''The babysitter hits Bobo with a newspaper while he tries to explain he wasn't barking. Quotes & References *''Grandma Kramer! Kramer was a character on the TV show Seinfeld, who had a propensity for bursting in the door. * "The Last Days of Edgar Winter" Edgar Winter is a rock musician known for his pale complexion and long platinum-blond hair. * "With Screwtape on kettle drum! Wormwood on harpsichord!" Screwtape and Wormwood are two demonic beings from C.S. Lewis' novelette "The Screwtape Letters". * "OK, Crow, I'm putting you on Clu Gulager alert." Clu Gulager is an actor who appeared in several movies and TV shows, whose career reached its peak in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Mike's joke is derived from the film's dated look. *''"He forgot to give me my Roman Gabriel cocktail glass!"'' Roman Gabriel was an NFL Quarterback from 1962-1977. He was famous for being the first Asian-American to start as a quarterback. *''"I'm gonna get out my guitar and practice 'Sister Golden Hair.'"'' 'Sister Golden Hair' is one of America's best known songs. *''"Wow, I'm the first one at the Rainbow Gathering!"'' The Rainbow Gathering is a gathering of "hippies" in an outdoor environment. Sort of like Burning Man, only without the fees or desert environment. *''"Thank you Lurch!"'' Mike is referring to the overture being played as being somewhat similar to the theme of The Addams Family. Lurch is the incredibly tall butler. *''"But the trees can't help their feeling, if they like the way they're made..."'' Mike is misquoting the Rush song "The Trees". *''"You know, you're pretty?" "In a frumpy, Rhoda sort of way."'' Rhoda refers to Rhoda Morgenstern who was a character on a popular 1970s TV show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show and later the spin-off Rhoda. Rhoda was the frumpy best friend of the lead character, Mary. *"You like me too don't you?" "In a Ron Palillo sort of way, sure." Ron Palillo played the character Horshack from the sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter. *''Herbert von Karajan is upset'' Reference to the popular conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic from 1955 to 1989. *''"Hey! Beelzebub! Kali! And Lucifer!"'' Jody glances at three pictures hanging over his bed in which Crow names off three separate entities alluding to Satan. Beelzebub was originally a deity under the name Ba'al whose name meant "Lord of the Flies." Lucifer is another such deity with his name meaning "the morning star." Both names are used to describe The Devil. Kali on the other hand is separate from all this, as she is a Hindu deity representing death and destruction. *''"They've got a signed copy of the Necromonicon sic!"'' The Necronomicon is a fictitious book of black magic originating in the writings of H.P. Lovecraft. *''"Excuse me, I think I left a Sustacal back in the corner there."'' Sustacal is a supplementary drink meant to help the eldery treat malnutrition. *''"She turned into Cecilia Bartoli."'' Cecilia Bartoli is an Italian opera singer. *''"You know, if she had two of these, she'd be Melissa 'Two-Sheds' Strickland." "Aww, now she's Melissa 'No-Sheds' Strickland."'' A reference to a skit from Monty Python's Flying Circus in which an interviewer obsesses over whether or not a famous composer nicknamed "Arthur 'Two-Sheds' Jackson" actually owns two sheds. *''"This is where the fish lives."'' A non-sequitur spoken by Melissa while on her first "date" with Jody, repeated often for the duration of the episode. *''"I haven't understood anything since McKinley went down."'' A reference to the William McKinley Assassination of 1901. William McKinley was the 25th president of the United States. *''She's going to buy a whole bunch of Proctor and Gamble products'' P&G was the subject of an urban legend alleging promotion of Satanism.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proctor_and_Gamble#Logo_controversy *''You been hittin' the booze?'' Mr. Keitel, leader of the lynch mob which attempts to kill Lucilla, is played by Robert Easton, who starred in The Giant Spider Invasion, who uttered that line to his wife at one point in the film. *''"Hold on, I'm getting a call from Margot Adler."'' Margot Adler is an NPR commentator and Wiccan priestess; in 1979 she authored 'Drawing Down The Moon', a guide to neopagan philosophy. *''"It's that witchcraft, wicked witchcraft."'' A reference to a song made famous by Frank Sinatra called "Witchcraft". *''"She gives him 15.55 just so she can get 6.66 back in change!" "Hey! The odometer is all 6's!"'' Referring to the 'Mark of the Beast' (666) which signals the coming of the antichrist. (AKA The Devil's return.) Video Release *Commercially released on VHS by BBI in November 2001. *Commercially released on DVD by Rhino Entertainment in March 2004 as part of The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection: Volume 5, a 4-DVD set with Boggy Creek II: And the Legend Continues…, Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders and Time Chasers. The DVD features an introduction with Michael J. Nelson recorded especially for this release and a trailer for the original film. Category:MST3K Episodes Category:Season 9 Category:70s Movie Category:PG-rated movies Category:Episodes directed by Kevin Murphy Category:Movies with nudity edited out